5-Phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3<i>H</i>)-ones Are Potent Inhibitors of Notum Carboxylesterase Activity Identified by the Optimization of a Crystallographic Fragment Screening Hit
作者:William Mahy、Nicky J. Willis、Yuguang Zhao、Hannah L. Woodward、Fredrik Svensson、James Sipthorp、Luca Vecchia、Reinis R. Ruza、James Hillier、Svend Kjær、Sarah Frew、Amy Monaghan、Magda Bictash、Patricia C. Salinas、Paul Whiting、Jean-Paul Vincent、E. Yvonne Jones、Paul V. Fish
DOI:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01391
日期:2020.11.12
Carboxylesterase Notum is a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway. There is an emerging understanding of the role Notum plays in disease, supporting the need to discover new small-molecule inhibitors. A crystallographic X-ray fragment screen was performed, which identified fragment hit 1,2,3-triazole 7 as an attractive starting point for a structure-based drug design hit-to-lead program. Optimization of 7 identified oxadiazol-2-one 23dd as a preferred example with properties consistent with druglike chemical space. Screening 23dd in a cell-based TCF/LEF reporter gene assay restored the activation of Wnt signaling in the presence of Notum. Mouse pharmacokinetic studies with oral administration of 23dd demonstrated good plasma exposure and partial blood-brain barrier penetration. Significant progress was made in developing fragment hit 7 into lead 23dd (>600-fold increase in activity), making it suitable as a new chemical tool for exploring the role of Notum-mediated regulation of Wnt signaling.